Watchers

Usage Tips

This section of the Free Census Project (FREECEN) transcribed ALL the 19th century census returns for Cornwall in order to create an online “free-to-view” searchable database. The 1901 census is included, but is incomplete. These are transcriptions, not indexes.

Censuses are provided by registration district order. THE FULL REGISTRATION NUMBER OF EACH REGISTRATION DISTRICT IS PROVIDED. Due to re-organisation of boundaries, census coverage changed over the years. There is a list of the parishes that were located in Devon rather than in Cornwall (and vice versa) in the 1841 and 1891 censuses.

"Our aim was to produce an exact transcription of what the enumerator wrote down. If he got it wrong—so have we! Some of the records are hard to decipher or totally unreadable, but we have taken our best shot. As with any research, it is important that YOU check the original source to confirm the information."

There is more information in the Research Tips for each of the registration districts.